


Thicker than Blood

by MashiarasDream



Series: Yours!verse [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Alpha!Balthazar, Alpha!Jess, Alpha!Sam, Also fluff, Baby Mary, Fucked up society, John Fucking Winchester, M/M, Omega!Gabriel, Some angst, a/b/o dynamics, alpha!cas, and some smut, established relationships - Freeform, omega!dean, time stamp 6 for Yours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-18 03:05:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4689935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MashiarasDream/pseuds/MashiarasDream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe it was inevitable that this day would come. John Winchester tracks down Dean and brings with him a wave of revelations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thicker than Blood

**Author's Note:**

> You asked, you shall receive.
> 
> Also so many thanks for the lovely comments, discussions and ideas! You are all wonderful!
> 
> PS: There is a degree of oversimplification of genetics in this. If necessary, please assume "ABO genetics" to suspend disbelief.

_The air is heavy and stale when he gets back. It’s sour, too, but not sour enough to assume that his Dad has vomited the contents of his stomach back up. Dean makes his way in, ignoring how his own stomach turns. But he’s got groceries to put in the fridge. The scent changes abruptly the second he steps into the kitchen. Metallic and warm and sweet – the shopping clatters to the ground as he rushes forward to the lifeless form that’s crumpled on the ground. Blood is blooming from a deep gash in his scalp and spreading over the ground underneath him. Dean drops to his knees, fervently pressing his hands to the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood even though he can smell it already, can smell the shift from blossoming Alpha to slow decay._

He startles awake. The sun is hitting him in irregular rays, shifting with the leaves on the wind and the awful smell of his brother’s blood is gone. It still smells sour, though. Dean shakes his head to clear his mind. Just a nightmare. One he hasn’t had in years, but still no more than that.

Mary starts shifting against him where she had been sleeping peacefully a moment before.

“Shh, shh,” he rocks his daughter while trying to calm his racing heart and with it his scent. The nightmare has left him in cold sweat. Can’t be very cozy to nuzzle into that.

He sees Sam’s lifeless form on the ground again. Beaten to death. Why, no one knows. His nightmares never tell him the reason. They just distill his fears into a worst case scenario. Dean resists the urge to call Sam and ask him whether he’s alright. Of course Sam is alright. He’s seen him a month ago and talked to him on the weekend. And Sam’s not 13 and newly presented anymore, he’s adult and strong.

Dean wrinkles his nose. The scent just doesn’t want to go away. He straightens up from where he had fallen asleep in the rocking chair. The porch runs around the whole side of the house and is his favorite spot to enjoy sunny days. The wind isn’t as strong here, and there’s shade so he doesn’t have to worry about Mary getting heatstroke.

The garden looks peaceful as always. There is nothing to see, no one in his immediate vicinity.

But that scent.

Whiskey. Sweat. Something sharp like old piss.

No one in their house drinks whiskey in the afternoon. And for a Beta scent to get this piercing... There is only one person he knows who smells like that.

But it can’t be him. He dreamt about him and his dream is lingering in the synapses of his brain. That must be it. Because he can’t be here. He can’t.

But he hasn’t dreamt about his Dad in years. His nightmares have long since changed. Dean bleeding out helplessly while Mary gets born as a still lifeless form. These are his nightmares these days. So why is he dreaming about his father now? His stomach clenches. What if the scent was here first and the dream came after?

Mary fidgets some more, well on her way to waking up. He should get her inside. He should get her away from this scent. He eyes the way to the door. It isn’t all that far. Then he lets the direction of the wind guide his eyes to the row of trees and hedges that line the garden. They are no further away than the door. And there’s enough cover there for a man to hide.

It boggles his mind, even considering it. That the man of his nightmares might be standing right there in the bushes watching him. Stalking him quietly like Dean is prey. But that’s how he would go about this, isn’t it? Ever since Mom died, he approaches all of life as a hunt.

So, assuming that this is not a trick his mind is playing on him but that his Dad has actually tracked him down, then he is probably already wary because Dean is checking his surroundings. John is a good hunter, even if he’s a shitty person. But for all that Dean’s been leading a life away from all of this for years now, he’s got some instincts to fall back on. He’ll be damned if he makes this easy for him.

“Shh, it’s all good, little one, Daddy needs to think for a moment, so let’s hold off on the crying for a bit okay?” Dean mumbles and shifts his daughter in his arms, ostentatiously fussing over her. If nothing else, it will gain him a few minutes of distraction while he goes over his options.

The scent is constant, not getting stronger and not receding. There’s that prickly feeling of being watched now, too, though it might be Dean’s imagination. But then, he hasn’t gotten that feeling in a long time. And it was always a warning. So he just has to assume that it’s exactly that right now. If not a warning for himself, then for the pup. She needs him to keep her safe.

Options then. Cas said he was going to meet with Ellen about the school this afternoon. Is he back from that already? Chances are, he isn’t. You don’t stalk your prey while the mother-bear is around to rip you apart. Who else is in the house? He has no idea actually. Charlie probably. Meg maybe. Unless she went shopping with Hannah. She’ll take the chance to get out of the house even if she doesn’t like her. But Dean doesn’t want any of them to get hurt by this crap anyway. And his Dad isn’t exactly the gentleman-type.

So, Cas it is.

Dean fusses about his daughter some more und uses the motion to get his cellphone out of his pocket. He has the time to find Cas’ contact before it becomes clear that it’s not Dean’s imagination playing tricks on him. There’s rustling from the trees, and the sour scent becomes that much stronger. The hunter has noticed that the prey isn’t behaving. No time for stalling and a text message then.

“You should not be here,” Dean says without turning around and hits dial. Surprisingly, his voice doesn’t even tremble.

There’s a short hesitation, maybe his father didn’t expect him to actually start talking, but the steps don’t falter.

A quick strategic assessment does not look good. With his phone in one hand and his daughter in the other, Dean’s completely blocked. But hell if he will let go of his daughter. He won’t give his father a chance to touch Mary. Not ever.

Dean gets up and stands tall. He isn’t in the best shape right now, still healing even after almost two months, but if he has a chance to avoid it, he will not stay in a lower position than the man who’s walking towards him.

He watches him come over. Doesn’t quite make it to raise his eyes to his father’s face for longer than a few seconds, but the rest of him would already be enough to know that he is who Dean expects him to be. Even the leather jacket is still the same. There’s something predatory to his movements, like he’s ready to dart whichever way Dean tries to flee. And there’s no telling stagger in his stride, so he’s mostly sober and might actually manage to do that.

Dean bites his lips. He wasn’t planning on fleeing in the first place. No matter what his father thinks, Dean’s not prey, and the only chases he’ll run are with Cas, and they are nothing like this. But his father this alert means he’s indeed in hunting mode. He’s approaching this like a job. On a job, his dad only drinks at night. Which means right now, he’s calculating and ready to corner Dean if he has to. Which doesn’t bode well for him, seeing his general condition and the fact that no matter how this develops, Mary has to be his priority.

On the plus side, when he isn’t drunk, his father is actually almost reasonable. Not a nice person by a long stretch. But not prone to explode into violence as long as there are consequences to fear. And he must be aware that there are going to be consequences if he attacks Dean.

The phone rings once more and then goes to voicemail. “You’ve reached the number for Castiel Novak. Please leave a message after the beep. BEEP.”

“Cas, come home, please. Now.” It’s all Dean has time to say because his father has closed the distance between them.

“It’s true then,” John says while eyeing Dean up and down. “Didn’t really believe it when I read it in the paper. You having a kid and it’s not even a bastard. Well, you’d better not name a bastard after your mother.”

Dean flinches at the voice. Too many insults are attached to it. Too many cruelties that he’s tried to forget. His mind has never quite managed that feat. His body, either, apparently, because he instinctively cowers, curling his body around his child as much as he can. But he stubbornly repeats, “You shouldn’t be here.”

John snarls. “It’ll be the day I die when I let an Omega tell me what I should or shouldn’t do. And is this a way to greet your father after this many years? You should be inviting me in!”

 _‘Tell him your Alpha made clear he wants you to listen only to him.’_ The memory of Cas’ words in their bedroom, many months ago, washes over Dean and drowns out whatever other response to the command in his father’s voice might have sprung up.

“I can’t.” Dean straightens up some with the words and lets his cellphone glide back into his pocket to get a better hold of Mary. She’s awake now, blue eyes blinking up at him curiously.

“What?” John sputters.

“You heard me,” Dean says, calmer than he feels, and presses Mary to his chest. It helps, her warmth against his skin. “It’s the pack-Alpha’s house. Only he can invite you in.” And he won’t, Dean adds silently.

“Oh,” John says, taken aback for the moment.

“He isn’t home right now,” ‘as I’m sure you already know’, Dean wants to say but doesn’t, “but I’ve called him. He’ll be back soon.”

He’s not sure that it comes over as the threat that it is because his father huffs. “So you’re going to make me stand around outside and wait for him?”

“You could just leave your number and leave our pack territory which you haven’t been welcomed on,” Dean bites.

“Don’t be ridiculous. My son is the pack-Alpha’s bitch. I have a right to be here!”

And Dean can just imagine how that word will go over with Cas. “Mate,” he corrects quietly.

“What did you just say?” John’s voice gets sharp.

“I’m his mate. Not his bitch.” It comes out more subdued than planned, but it comes out.

“Same difference,” John snarls. “He owns you, he breeds you, you’re his Omega bitch. Whether you want to call it mate or not doesn’t make a difference.”

There’s a moment of silence after that while Dean waits for his own reaction. Waits for the pain that always follows his Dad’s words. Waits for doubts to creep in about Cas or Dean’s status in this house and in the pack. But nothing happens. It’s still their house and their pack, whatever John spits at him.

Then Mary fists one of her tiny hands into his shirt as if to remind him she’s there and that she’s living proof of everything Dean believes. She can’t grasp consciously yet, so it’s probably coincidence, but it doesn’t make the conclusion less true. Dean softly strokes his daughter’s head. She’s going to be as strong as Alpha-Daddy, no matter how she presents. Dean’s going to make sure of it.

“Is that what you came here for? Insulting me?” Dean asks without looking up.

“You young generation and your sensibilities,” John huffs, “stating facts is already insulting to you. No wonder that everything’s falling apart in the world. No one knows their place anymore.”

It’s a pointless rant. It seemed important when he was a kid. When he was dependent on his Dad’s goodwill and terrified of the Alpha that was going to claim him one day. But even then, it was a pointless rant, serving no purpose but to scare Dean into submission. He sees that now. “For the fact that you spent a lot of time trying to teach me _respect_ , you show very little of it towards me, _Sir_.”

Judging by the way John starts growling, the sarcasm came through loud and clear. “I show you as much respect as you deserve!”

Mary’s face crunches up at the way John shouts. “Shh, shh, it’s all good, little one. The old man will go away soon,” Dean calms her. Surprisingly, he doesn’t really need calming himself. It’s not surprising that John doesn’t get the concept of showing even basic politeness towards his Omega son. But Dean didn’t expect how little effect it has on him. With a last pat to Mary’s cheek, he looks up at his father’s face for the first time in more than half a decade.

It takes a moment to even really recognize him. The features are all there. The same dark eyes he’s always had, only sunken deeper into his skull. The same lines that have crinkled his face to some degree as long as Dean can remember, only now they are as subtle as railroad tracks. He’s gotten old, Dean recognizes. His hair has turned grey. His eyes are sparkling fury but his skin is tinted yellow. He looks sick more than anything.

“Why are you here, John?” Dean asks. “It’s been too many years for this to be a courtesy visit.”

“And whose fault is that? You left me! You took your brother and left!” John accuses.

There’s nothing much to say to that. “I did,” Dean nods.

“You stole my _son_ from me!”

Is that what they’re getting at? If so, then yeah, there’s a sting to that. There’s a sting that his father is here and Dean has to cope with his insanity, and really all that John is interested in is the Alpha he managed to sire. “His name is Sam. There’s more to him than being your Alpha-son.”

“Where is he?” John demands.

“Not here.”

“You’re lying! He’s a member of this pack! I looked it up!” John shouts.

“He’s still not here.” Dean keeps his own voice down, for Mary’s sake more than anything else.

“Then where is he?”

Dean shrugs. “Leave your number with me and I’ll give it to him.”

“You cannot withhold my son from me!” John rages.

“Your son is an adult Alpha. I have no claim on him but neither do you.”

Verbal arguments exhausted, John comes a couple of threatening steps closer.

Only, they don’t have the desired effect. Because Dean is done with this bullshit. He bares his teeth and stands his ground. “Lay one finger on me or my daughter, and my mate will rip you apart.”

“Don’t you dare threaten me!” John fumes and moves another step forwards.

There’s a tiny whine from Mary but Dean shelters her in his arms and she immediately quiets down. She trusts him, Dean realizes. She trusts him to keep her safe. That’s why she isn’t crying. “Actually, lay one finger on my daughter, and _I_ will rip you apart.” He doesn’t even raise his voice, just says it with quiet conviction. “And that’s not a threat. Just a statement of facts.”

John’s too stunned for a moment to react and before he recovers there’s already the scent of earth and honey getting stronger in the air. Dean turns towards it before Cas is even around the corner, though he keeps a wary eye on his father.

“Dean? I was already on my way home when I got your message, what’s –“ Then he sees the stranger in his garden. He stops abruptly, only to pick his steps up faster than before. “What’s going on?”

There is a growl to his voice that has John shrinking back. Dean is tempted to smirk even though it would be more satisfying if he could make John shrink back like that on his own.

“Who the hell are you? And what the hell are you doing on my private grounds?” Cas demands.

“John Winchester, Sir,” John stutters.

“John Win -,” Cas turns to Dean who nods. Yeah, this is his father. Cas sniffs the air, trying to judge how upset his mate is, Dean thinks, but instead he just immediately wrinkles his nose at John’s smell. “That’s some gall you have, showing up uninvited not only on my territory but at my house,” Cas growls.

But John has recovered somewhat. “I was coming to talk to my Alpha-son, not have words with the – thieving bitch you call your mate.”

Cas starts growling in earnest at that. “Want to repeat that?”

John staggers a few steps back, and frankly, it would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.

“To be fair, he’s got a point with the thieving part,” Dean says. “Don’t think he’s talking about that but I collected the Impala as early inheritance.”

“You stole the Impala from him?” Cas asks, bristly ginger in his scent getting overlaid with a touch of sunshine. As upset as Cas is, that’s almost amusement, Dean thinks.

“Hey, we needed a ride. And I didn’t want him to crash Baby while he was drunk. Would have been a shame, beauty like her.”

Cas turns back to John, looking him up and down. “Yeah, I can see how that could happen. And accidents are potentially life-threatening. So really you just made his life safer.”

“Probably,” Dean answers and surprises himself with his small chuckle.

“I see no problem with this then,” Cas says and raises his eyebrows when he asks John, “Do you see a problem with this?”

“I don’t care about the car,” John grumbles petulantly, “I want to talk to my son!”

Cas’ scent turns confused. “He’s right here. And you didn’t exactly ask my permission to talk to him before.”

“He means Sam, not me,” Dean clears his Dad’s meaning up. He tries to keep it out of his scent, how that grates on him, but he doesn’t think it works.

“Oh. I see,” Cas replies, voice even darker than usual. “You want to see the pride and joy of your life. The Alpha who will lead your family back to glory. Not the Omega who is my property, his only purpose in life bearing and raising my pups?”

Dean fights the impulse to groan. Instead, he just interrupts the speech with a quiet “Cas, don’t”, because this test is unnecessary. His father will fail it, there’s no doubt about it.

“No, Dean, let him answer,” Cas shakes his head and turns around. “I want to know what he says.”

For a long moment, they’re just looking at each other. Then Dean nods and gives in. If Cas needs to hear the words from his father’s mouth, so be it. Dean will take as little part in this as he can, though. He’s heard the bullshit before, he doesn’t need to hear it again. All it’ll do is try to rip his heart open and he doesn’t need that. So he concentrates on his daughter while Cas turns his attention back to John.

“Look,” John clears his throat, “I don’t contest that he’s yours. If you can deal with his attitude, congratulations. God knows I never managed to show him his place, no matter how hard I tried. But my other son is not your mate. You have no right to keep him from me.”

It comes out more apprehensive than the words suggest, the stutter getting worse as Cas’ face hardens with the response. “You want to explain that in detail to me? What you did to show him his place?” Cas snarls and the menace in his voice is unmistakable.

His father blanches and Dean would love to just let this play out, only, he has told Cas a lot but he hasn’t told Cas everything and, “Cas, be careful. He might be carrying a gun. He used to in the city.”

For a moment, it is dead-silent. Then Cas explodes, “ You fucking _what_?” His scent bristles with sudden electric energy and he seems a head taller than he normally is. Both John and Dean shrink back against the fury. “Not only do you come here and insult us, you dare to come on my territory brandishing a _weapon_?”

Cas has worked himself into a fairly loud roar by the end of that sentence, urge to strike out tangible in the air. Mary starts whining, hiding into Dean’s chest, instinctively cowering away from the angry Alpha whether it’s her Daddy or not. Dean lays his hand over her ears and presses her face into him, protecting her from both the noise and the smell as well as he can.

“Explain yourself! And better do it right now!” Cas barks, hold on his tight self-control crumbling by the second if the metallic smell in the air is any indication.

“I…” But John falters in the face of Cas’ rage and there are no words following the beginning of the sentence. For a moment, it looks like John might turn tail and run, but then he thinks better of it. He lowers his head, turns his palms outward, submits.

Dean breathes a tiny sigh of relief. He doesn’t even want to know what Cas would have done had his Dad either gone for the gun or tried to run. There’s really no faster way to override logical thinking in an Alpha’s brain than either run or physically threaten a mate or a pup. It is weird, though, seeing his father like this. He’s made a show of submitting at the old pack, but Dean doesn’t think he’s ever seen him this frightened of an Alpha before.

“Surrender it. Surrender your weapon. Right now,” Cas grits out, obvious submission giving him some hold on his instincts but not enough to dampen down the rage. He’s balling his hands into fists so hard that his knuckles are completely white and his whole body is vibrating with the effort not to strike.

John glowers but he doesn’t dare to look up from where he’s staring at the patch of grass in front of him. Instead, he very slowly brings one hand to his back to retrieve the gun he has tucked into his waistband. He holds it gingerly, making sure he doesn’t even accidentally get his fingers near the trigger while he carefully lowers the gun to the ground and then takes a step back so that it is out of his reach.

Cas follows his every movement, coiled to spring into action should it become necessary, and as soon as John is far enough away, he retrieves the gun quickly, checks the safety, but then decides to just empty it of its ammunition. A few efficient, practiced movements and he pockets the bullets and throws the gun on the bench behind him.

With the gun out of play, the lightning storm of Cas’ scent calms from a tornado to a thunderstorm. “Any other weapon you want to give up?”

John actually has to take two tries before the words come out of his mouth. “No, Sir.”

“Good,” Cas says. “Good.” He’s staring a hole through John still but his voice is cold instead of quivering with hot anger now. “That was the first smart choice you’ve made today, everything else was ill-advised. Actually, if I didn’t have it right out of Dean’s mouth, I wouldn’t believe that you’re his father. I have no idea how you managed to sire someone so smart and caring. Is that why you needed to try to squash his potential? Couldn’t live with the fact that Dean is a better man than you are?”

The challenge is clear but John doesn’t react more than gritting his teeth.

And yeah, his Dad had always been kind of a coward that way. It’s easier to convert your issues into anger and take that out on someone weaker than face your shit when challenged by someone stronger than you.

“Now, my patience is running very low. I’ll try to hang on to it for the sole reason that through the laws of mating, you are family. If I have it my way, you’ll be quiet until I have escorted you off my grounds, and then you’ll get out of my sight as fast as you can and never come back,” Cas bares his teeth at John for good measure before actually making the effort to rein in his tone. “But you aren’t _my_ father. Dean, what do you want me to do with him?”

And of course that is what breaks John’s restraint. He looks up at Cas disbelievingly. “You’re asking _him_?”

The growl is immediately back, a low rumble in Cas’ throat, and Dean’s father quickly lets his eyes sink back to the ground.

“You could at least _try_ not to exhaust my patience any further,” Cas snaps exasperatedly. “Dean? Can we make this quick, please, before I do something that will need cleaning up?”

“I hear you, Cas,” Dean says absentmindedly but watches his squirming father. He’d never really expected to see him again. Had never wanted to, either. Because he’d known how the meeting would go. Pretty much like it did, that is.

Dean intentionally lets his gaze drop away then and gives his daughter a kiss on the head. She’s stopped whining the second Cas’ scent started to calm down. She loves her Alpha-daddy, and she’s not scared longer than the acute crisis lasts. Not that they usually have crises like this. They have their share of disagreements and snappy moods but they resolve them with mostly even scents and definitely without violence. And even this here, they’re going to resolve semi-peacefully. His daughter will never have to be scared like he was as a kid.

Dean looks at the pathetic old man in front of him and makes his decision. “I need five minutes. Then you can throw him out.”

Cas wears a steep frown, face still hard from the confrontation, but he nods, “Go ahead.”

Seeing the harshness, Dean takes a step closer to Cas, edging into his space. His mate still smells like the very air around him got burned, but the moment Dean manages to catch his eyes and give him a small smile, the honey scent overwhelms the rage. Dean comes close enough that his arm brushes Cas’ sleeve before he turns to his Dad. It gives them both a measure of comfort and control.

John is still not looking up so he can’t have gotten much of their silent exchange. It’s a weird feeling, seeing John frightened while Dean is standing tall. Seeing John cowering in front of the man that Dean loves. Who he knows would never intentionally hurt him. Yet there is no satisfaction or triumph at finally seeing John beaten into submission. The same old anger that’s always been there is residing somewhere in the back of Dean’s mind. There’s a sadness there, too, now, because John for all of his fury is obviously broken. Dean’s gaze strays to John’s neck where somewhere under the leather jacket an old mating bite sits, long since faded and never renewed. It was this that broke his Dad.

He looks over at Cas again, his gorgeous mate, and then at Mary, his beautiful daughter. They’ve been stewing on this point ever since Dean almost died but in this moment he knows with total clarity that he at least would never do what his Dad did. He’ll always love his daughter with all of his heart. Whatever powers he has, few as they might be in their society, he’ll use them to protect her and do right by her.

“It probably doesn’t mean much to you,” Dean says, voice soft in the wake of his revelation, “but I want you to know that I’m happy. That I love Cas. So yeah, I belong to him, but we’re more than what you’re making us out to be. And I named my daughter after Mom because she’d approve. She had so much love in her heart. And she died before I could give any of that back. So now I’m giving it back this way. We’re welcome in this house, me and Sammy and Mary. We’re safe and we’re loved. They’re my family here in a way you never were. Family don’t end in blood.” He trails off for a moment to collect himself. “The offer still stands. Leave your address and phone number with us. I’ll give it to Sam. It’s his decision whether he wants to talk to you. But you are not welcome here. Don’t come back.” When Dean has ended he nods at Cas, “Get him out of here, please.”

Cas looks back at Dean for a moment, too many emotions flitting across his face for Dean to even make sense of them. A lot of it is love, though, Dean thinks, even though there’s also anger at John still.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Alright,” Dean nods.

“Come with me,” Cas orders, and when John doesn’t immediately react, he grabs his upper arm and pulls him along.

 

It takes a few minutes before Cas comes back. Dean spends the time pacing up and down the porch. His steps falter every time he sees the gun on the bench. He turns away from it, just to find his steps being drawn to it again. It’s not the Colt, his father’s most prized possession, but still, it’s intricately linked to him. He hasn’t seen a gun this close up in years. Jody carries one, of course, but she keeps it tucked away. And he hasn’t ever seen Cas with a gun before.

Consequently, that’s the first thing he says when Cas comes around the corner, exhausted but alone. “You know how to handle a gun.”

Cas’ gaze strays to the weapon while his hand pats over the pocket where he’s stored the bullets. He wrinkles his nose. “Of course, Dean. I fought a war. And even if I hadn’t, it’s basic safety training for a pack-Alpha.”

Dean nods because that makes sense.

“It doesn’t mean I _like_ them. In fact, I disdain them. I will bring this one to Jody. I don’t care whether he has a permit or not, he’s not getting it back. He can be glad that I’m not pressing charges.”

“You could press charges just for him coming here.”

“But that would only be a misdemeanor. Bringing a concealed weapon to a meeting with a pack-Alpha, that’s a criminal offense. Do you want to see him in jail?”

“So you didn’t kill him on the way out?” Dean asks and it’s only half a joke.

“No,” Cas sighs. “He left without giving me trouble. Or talking to me, actually.”

“He didn’t give you his address and number?”

“No,” Cas shakes his head.

“Then he’ll be back.” There’s a certainty in him that he can’t explain.

“We made it crystal-clear that we don’t want him here,” Cas replies and turns to look towards the road that leads to the city, as if he can track John’s progress by just looking in the direction he took off in.

“And he’ll still be back.”

This time, the conviction in Dean’s voice seems to make an impression because Cas turns around and gives Dean his full attention. “Why?”

“Because it doesn’t add up. The things he said – it doesn’t add up.”

“How?”

“Being so insistent about talking to Sam. The thing about me stealing him. Dad never even filed a missing person’s report. He never went to the police and accused me of kidnapping his son. He never searched for him before, as far as I know. So why now? There must be a reason.”

“If your father is in trouble, wouldn’t it be smarter not to antagonize us?” Cas asks reasonably.

“Don’t think he cares much about antagonizing me. Also don’t think he expected to antagonize you quite this much with his views,” Dean shrugs.

“Seriously?” Cas huffs. “He thinks I’m going to high five him for insulting my mate?”

Dean sighs. “He’d call it supporting you in keeping my attitude in check, but yeah, pretty much.”

Cas turns and stares at the road where John disappeared, low steady growl under his breath attesting to dark and violent thoughts. Probably about all the things he could have done and didn’t do to John.

“Little Alpha?” Dean asks quietly. “Can you stop with the growling please? You’re making the little one nervous.”

Indeed, Mary’s eyes are glassy and she’s started to sob quietly again.

It rips Cas out of the angry place he’d been in. “Oh God, I’m sorry,” he apologizes immediately, scent dropping the electric static in exchange for the subdued tones of guilt. He comes over to them to nuzzle his nose into Mary’s cheek. “I’m so sorry, Sunshine. Alpha-Daddy isn’t upset with you or Omega-Daddy.” He gives his daughter a kiss and then leans in to give Dean a kiss, too. “I’m sorry, Dean. My temper got the better of me.”

Dean leans in to scent at Cas’ pulse-point, not quite reaching the mating bite that is mostly hidden by Cas’ collar, but pressing a kiss in the general vicinity. “It’s all good, little Alpha. We aren’t scared of you, the little one and I. We could just do with some love after all that bullshit.”

Cas responds by laying his arms around Dean’s back, drawing Dean close enough that Mary is sheltered completely between them. Dean lets out a shuddering breath, some of the tension that had him in thrall letting go. He lets his head drop to Cas’ shoulder, lets Cas cradle him and their daughter.

It washes out the final notes of Cas’ anger at John and replaces it with honey and love.

Dean soaks the scent in like it’s a life-line. “Am so glad that I’ve got you,” he mumbles against Cas’ shirt.

Cas brings a hand up to Dean’s neck to hold him even tighter. “You okay?” he asks worriedly.

“Yeah,” Dean nods. “Better than I thought I would be. Surreal, though.”

“I’m sorry about the things he said,” Cas says. “I wish things had gone better.”

“Nah, don’t be sorry,” Dean shakes his head. He straightens back up to be able to look at Cas. “He didn’t really get to me.”

Cas looks at him doubtfully, so Dean gives him a smile. It turns out mostly genuine, too.

“Look, I know who I am to you. Who you are to me. He can call me your Omega bitch all he wants, it won’t make a difference.”

“You sure? Cause I can repeat the whole equality speech by heart if you need it.”

It’s the tiny smirk, the ease with which Cas is teasing and reassuring at the same time, that makes Dean’s heart blossom. They know each other so well. “Assbutt,” Dean chuckles and pokes Cas in the side.

“That’s my line, you – also assbutt!” Cas laughs, honey scent intensifying to dazzling as Dean’s reaction tells him that Dean is actually mostly okay.

“Only cause you refuse to say any of the good swearwords.”

“Because I’m a respectable pack-Alpha, that’s why,” Cas says haughtily.

“Betcha I can prove you wrong.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” Dean nods.

“How?” Cas asks back.

“Would a respectable pack-Alpha do this in public?” Dean smirks and swoops in for a real kiss, lingering and deep and slightly breathless.

Cas’ hand wanders into Dean’s hair, trying to get him even closer, to intertwine them even more, while his other hand finds its way under the hem of Dean’s shirt, tugging at his waistband.

Of course that’s when Mary starts fidgeting between them, making sure they know she’s still there and doesn’t want to get squished. They break the kiss, laughing instead of upset at the disturbance.

“Better get used to this, little one,” Dean chuckles. “Your Daddies are not always extremely appropriate. We’re also kind of sappy and a bit over-affectionate in public. Just ask your Uncle Sammy about it. Or maybe don’t. Not until you’ve come of age anyway.”

Cas shakes his head but he’s chuckling, too, while Mary looks up at them with wide eyes and opens and closes her mouth a few times like she wants to take part in the conversation.

“You hungry, little one? Then we should go feed you. We can think about your stupid grandpa later, okay?” He looks up at Cas because that last question was actually more for him than for Mary.

“Yes, you go feed her. I need to make a few phone calls.” Cas sighs and looks like he’d much rather make out some more, dignity as pack-Alpha be damned. He picks up the gun with two fingers and holds it gingerly. “And I’ll get this evil thing to Jody.”

 

It’s good that Mary’s there, Dean thinks when he finally closes the door to the nursery behind him after tucking her in. Of course it’s always good that she’s there, but on a day like this, she gives the hours structure and there’s definitely no time to think or panic over things like John Fucking Winchester showing up on his doorstep.

Only now, Mary is asleep and with today’s excitement, Dean guesses that he has at least four hours before the baby phone will alert him that she’s had enough of sleeping in her own bed for the night. He’d use the time to crash for a while usually, either falling asleep on the couch or giving in immediately and just going to bed. But he doubts that he’ll find the peace he needs to sleep today.

He finds Cas in the kitchen, cup of coffee in his hands, Charlie sitting opposite him, drinking some atrocious neon-green soft drink.

“Hey,” Dean greets them.

“Hello Dean,” Cas greets back. “Mary asleep?”

“Yeah,” Dean nods. “Pity you weren’t there. You’d have loved tonight’s story.”

“What was it about?” Cas asks with a smile.

“The adventures of little angel-girl and her best friend Mr. Sparkles.”

“Why is the bear’s name Mr. Sparkles again?”

“Cause Mr. Fizzles was already taken by the sock puppet,” Dean says drily.

“Of course,” Cas nods. “It’s a logical conclusion.”

Dean grins and goes to get himself a glass of water. “How are things on your end? You told Charlie I assume.”

“He did,” Charlie confirms. “Sorry that I wasn’t there to help.”

“It’s alright, we got it handled,” Dean shrugs, more nonchalant than he feels about it. “What did Jody say?”

“She cussed me out,” Cas sighs.

“Seriously?” Dean is surprised by that. Jody has a foul mouth sometimes but usually not when Cas is around.

“He deserves it. You or Mary could have gotten hurt,” Charlie says empathically.

“I’ve heard the speech already,” Cas sighs, ”you don’t need to repeat it.”

“But this could easily have been avoided! I could totally track that guy.”

“I’m aware,” Cas grumbles. “And it’s not like Dean and I have never talked about it. Just – didn’t seem like it would actually be necessary.”

“Want me to track him now?” Charlie asks.

“Will it stop you from doing it if I say no?”

“No, probably not. Dean and Mary could have gotten hurt!”

Cas rubs a hand over his forehead. “And you should be aware that I’m the last person who’d want that. So by all means, track him. Jody is keeping an eye on him, too. And you,” Cas looks up at Dean, “should probably warn your brother.”

Dean sits down with a heavy sigh, suddenly very weary. “Guess so,” he mumbles though he has no idea where to start that particular conversation. “Do I have to do it tonight?”

“Dean, I’m not – ordering you to call him. Just, he should be warned. Especially with Jessica in the picture.”

And that is true, of course. It’s just that Dean is exhausted. He wants to let the evening soothe all of this away, not discuss his father’s motives with his little brother. “I’ll do it tomorrow morning then,” he decides.

“Thank you,” Cas says.

“Little Alpha, always so concerned with protecting everyone.” Dean attempts a smile but he’s sure it comes out as exhausted as he feels.

Cas’ face tenses and he draws his bottom lip between his teeth, a telltale sign that he’s unhappy with himself.

Dean sighs because he doesn’t need this on top of everything else. He turns to Charlie. “See, that’s what happens. When you and Jody or Ellen decide you need to bitch him out about me or the pup. Now he’s beating himself up about not protecting us right. When it’s totally not true. Cause it’s totally not true, Cas. You couldn’t have known he’d show up. And you came as soon as I called. And you gave one hell of a show.” When Cas still doesn’t look at him, Dean shakes his arm a little. “Hey! There’s more but I’m only going to tell you if you look at me.”

“Dean,” Cas says wearily, but he turns his head up towards him.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Dean smiles. “Good to see your beautiful eyes.”

And that might be Charlie choking on their pheromones again, but at least she tries to choke quietly.

“It’s a good thing that you came when you came. He’s scared of you in a way that he’ll never be scared of me. But Cas – he’s got no hold over me.” And that’s possibly the one good outcome of today. Dean feels the truth of that in every fiber of his being, where before he’d only known it intellectually.

“He could still have hurt you, Dean. Taken his revenge on you or something,” Charlie throws in.

“No,” Dean says with conviction. “He wouldn’t. He’s mostly strong when he can beat up the weak.”

It’s silent for a moment, then Cas says, “Well, in all the time I’ve known you, one thing you’ve never been is weak.”

“Thanks, Cas.” Dean’s smile turns out edgier than planned. “It’s not true, but it’s a nice compliment.” Dean holds up his hand when Cas wants to interrupt and makes an attempt to smooth this over before they can get into a discussion that he has no energy for today. “I’ll give it to you that it’s kind of true where my Dad is concerned. I ain’t 16 and scared anymore. He’s got no threats to hold over me.”

“All this validation of each other is all great,” Charlie says, “so don’t get me wrong here, you’re a disgustingly happy couple and make each other better and yada yada but this fucking guy had a fucking gun! Do you even know how fast that can go wrong? Cause I do!”

“You’re safe here, Charlie,” Cas replies and takes his eyes away from Dean to focus on the redhead.

Charlie snorts. “No, I have no illusions about that. Again, don’t get me wrong, Cas. I’m eternally grateful that you’ve taken me in and I’m doing my very best not to make waves and bring a shit storm down on you and your pack, but I’m never safe. And frankly, having a hunter strolling around on my front lawn doesn’t really make me do a happy dance.”

“You got beef with the hunters?” Dean says surprised. “Thought it was mainly the feds.”

“The feds are a – legal concern,” Charlie says carefully. “But they’re dumb and they have rules. So they’re kind of easy to avoid. There’s other – interested parties that have a lot less scruples.”

“Like hunters,” Dean insists.

“Possibly,” Charlie answers vaguely.

“Jesus, Charles, what the hell did you do?”

“It’s better if you don’t know,” Charlie shrugs. “Plausible deniability and stuff. If worst comes to worst.”

“If it’s any consolation, I doubt that my Dad’s working. He looked like shit and the way he smelled, he’s into the booze way too much. The network shuns anyone who shows up drunk and botches jobs.” The skin on Dean’s back itches in memory of the times the network had cut ties with his Dad temporarily until he was dried out enough to work again. His mood had been less than stellar during those times, and the belt much faster in hand.

“I’ll know soon enough,” Charlie says grimly.

“You’re going to hack into their network?”

“You got a problem with that?” Charlie glares defiantly at the both of them.

Cas looks at her sharply for a moment but then “be careful” is all he says.

“Will be,” Charlie nods and gets up. “By your leave?”

It’s an obvious appeasing gesture, seeing that she usually just gets up and disappears, but Cas nods like it’s an everyday occurrence. “Of course.”

“See you tomorrow then,” she waves and doesn’t even say her customary ‘peace out’.

And then they’re alone.

 

For a moment, they both sit quietly. It’s not their usual calm quiet that comes with being used to being in each other’s space. It’s a quiet in which none of them knows which topic to tackle first or whether it’s even a good idea to tackle any of them right now. There is a small but niggling anxiety at the back of Dean’s head because they haven’t gotten out of this yet. His Dad might yet come back. And if he comes back drunk, there’s no knowing whether he’d actually use that gun. It makes him itchy and he’s glad that Charlie couldn’t be dissuaded from tracking John.

Then there’s the fact that he’s also exhausted and exhaustion makes him brittle. Especially in the aftermath of the hospital stay. His physical strength is slow in returning and Cas is treating him like a raw egg on the best of days. It makes Dean grit his teeth. This is different than being coddled before Mary was born. This makes him feel like he’s a wounded animal that has to be protected and can’t be trusted to do their part.

Even now, Cas watches him warily. It’s enough to know that he’s picked up on Dean’s shift of mood towards the defensive, and will try even harder not to upset Dean. As well intentioned as it is, it grates on his nerves. Couple Cas’ need to protect with Dean’s unwillingness to be sheltered, throw in that Cas already feels like a failure for not having been there when John showed up, and Dean’s lingering anxiety about John’s potential return, and yeah, they’re not in a good place.

“So how did it go with Ellen?” Dean asks gruffly because goddammit they need a change of topic.

Cas is thrown for a second and he clears his throat before he answers. “Well. It went well.”

Dean huffs a mirthless laugh. “You gotta throw me a little more than that if you want this to be an actual conversation, Cas.”

And yeah, he’s lashing out already even though Cas didn’t do anything wrong. Cas recoils visibly from it, too. Fuck.

Dean makes an effort to keep the edge out of his voice. “Come on, Cas, throw me a bone. We can talk about the other shit when we’re both feeling a little more settled.”

There’s a slight nod then, an understanding that relaxes Cas’ body language though it only lasts for a moment. Then Cas leans forward in his chair and shuffles through the stack of papers that apparently Charlie dropped off earlier. “We’ve been talking about the dormitories.”

Dean nods. He’s expected as much. The construction is moving along, Cas never one for waiting once he’s made up his mind to do something, but the details of the interior layout are sometimes still hazy. “Still figuring out the finer points of the security?”

“In a way.” There’s something shifty about the way Cas answers, like it’s a discussion he isn’t sure he wants to have.

It makes Dean tense up immediately.

It had been a hotly debated point, whether to segregate the dormitories by gender or not. It’s the norm, of course. Citing every reason in the book from Omega smell distracting Alpha students to the risk of accidental mating. The danger of Omegas getting raped comes up in the official guides as well, but it’s mostly treated as a risk for law suits for the school if physical violence leads to hospitalization or the act itself to unwanted pregnancies. They don’t call it that but they’re arguing property damage not assault. Dean had had to read the documents in small portions to keep from throwing the booklets out of the window or burning them in a fit of rage.

But even reading all of this, even considering the risks, he’d made up his mind differently. Dean most definitely doesn’t want anyone assaulted. Fucking hell, he’s doing all of this to help spare the new generation some of the shit he’s had to go through. Which is precisely why he argued against segregated dorms in the end. Because if they’re keeping them apart, the Alphas will never learn to see Omegas as humans in their own right. They won’t get to know them as friends and they’ll just keep their snot-nosed prejudices.

It was one of the very few topics Cas and he had not agreed on in this whole thing. Because Cas’ main and only argument was security. He wanted the Omegas safe from even potential harm. And argued that they could make the curricula integrate mixed study groups more often to foster mutual contact.

Now in Dean’s experience, strictly controlled, adult-supervised environments do not lead to friendships. At the most, they lead to slackers surreptitiously copying someone else’s homework. He should know.

Cas being Cas had seen Dean trying to rein in his impulse to argue and told him that he was his own person on the board and not just an extension of his Alpha. That Dean should find as many arguments as possible to bolster his opinion, even if it was contrary to his own. Taking Cas at his word, Dean had called up Kevin and together they had researched scientific studies about the benefits of integrated dorms as well as reliable security systems for them. Dean had actually prepared a whole fucking presentation. Slides and everything.

And to his own surprise, he had apparently been pretty goddamn convincing. There had even been Alphas on the board who’d voted for Dean’s plan. There must have been, seeing the results. But none of them had been Cas. The votes are always anonymous so that no one knows in the moment whether they’re voting with or against their pack-Alpha, but Dean had instantly seen it in the tight set of Cas’ shoulders and the abruptness of his nod after Ellen had announced the results. Still, he had nodded and not vetoed the plan. And he had told Dean that he was proud of him, even though the tight set of his shoulders and the scent of worry that clung to him in conjunction with this topic had not disappeared.

All of this was months ago, though, and they’ve figured it out for the most part by now. They’re going to have separate floors for the Alphas and Omegas, secured with electronic locking systems, and a big common area with a kitchen, rooms to study and common rooms to hang out.

Dean had thought they’d pretty much laid the topic to rest. Judging by Cas’ unease, apparently not. “Well, spit it out. What did you do that’s going to upset me? Are you going to GPS-track all Omegas and simultaneously monitor their heartrates to make sure Jody can be there the minute anyone starts flirting with them?”

It’s an intentionally snippy remark, and it earns the expected glare. Nothing else, though, no snide remark in return, no long-suffering ‘Dean!’ Alright, now he’s worried. He raises his eyebrows at his mate.

Cas squirms for a second, ruffles through the papers again and draws a folder out of the heap. He doesn’t give it to Dean, though, just puts it down on top of the stack. It takes another long moment before he says. “We’ve been talking about housemasters.”

“Okay,” Dean says carefully because that doesn’t yet sound like anything that would upset him. “We knew we were going to need those. You’re still planning on employing one for the Alphas and one for the Omegas, right?” Because if Cas thinks it’s a good idea to save money by having only one Alpha housemaster for all of them, then yeah, that won’t go over well with Dean.

“Yes, of course, Dean,” and there it is, a hint of impatience at Dean implying Cas would not think things through.

“Just asking,” Dean answers and suppresses his smile at the predictability of the reaction. “You’re still not giving me much to go on, man.”

“You remember what we said about the requirements the housemasters need to meet?”

“Experience with children. Experience with administration and budgets. Controlled temper. Mated, if possible. Availability to live here permanently. Ideally in the dorms or dorm-adjacent,” Dean rattles down the list.

“Yeah,” Cas nods. “We, umm, have found candidates. They’re not ideal, but, umm, I think they would make it work.”

And that’s too many ‘umms’ in one sentence to not be suspicious. Dean doesn’t even have to ask, though, Cas already slides the folder he’d picked out over to Dean.

Curiously, but also somewhat cautiously, Dean opens it and looks at the contents. It’s the draft contracts for the housemasters. He’s seen them before. There is nothing unusual about them. Until he sees the names that have been filled in. His eyebrows draw together with the first name. He cross-checks the second contract, but he already knows the name he’s going to find. Gabriel Milton. Omega housemaster to Balthazar Milton’s Alpha.

“You serious?” Dean asks because for one, what the fuck, and for two, he’s pretty sure that none of the two meets their requirements.

“Yes,” Cas nods.

“You’re planning to put an office drone and an ex-whore in charge of boarding?”

Cas huffs exasperatedly. “Balthazar works in a big media corporation. He knows how to work on a budget. He’ll figure out where the difference lies between film sets and furniture. And I thought you of all people wouldn’t be the one calling my brother a whore.”

“Ex-whore is what I said. Which is a statement of facts.”

“It‘s a deliberate contortion of what characterizes my brother. He’s stubborn and strong, won’t let anyone give him shit, in his own snarky way gets people to open up, and he can cook decently enough that he’ll make sure no one in the dorms is going to starve. I cannot think of a better housemaster and protector for our Omega students.”

Cas has talked himself into a little passionate rant there, but now he sinks back in his chair, a sullen huff on his lips, arms crossed across his chest, already bracing himself for the next round of the fight.

Not that there’s going to be one. Because for one, apparently he has thought this through. For two, Dean’s kind of really proud of his Alpha for the way he just described his Omega brother. And while it takes a moment to imagine it, what Cas says is not wrong. Dean can see Gabe commandeering a small army of 16-year-olds. He’s reasonably sure that even the Alphas will be scared of Gabriel if he wants them to be.

“So, have you talked to them yet?”

He throws Cas with the easy acceptance, and the defensive attitude collapses for a moment before Cas tenses again. “With Balthazar,” he admits grudgingly.

“Balthazar knows, Gabriel doesn’t?” Dean asks, voice flat with the realization that the Alphas have concocted this on their own.

Cas’ voice is resigned when he answers. “Go ahead. Tell me how we’re two knotheads trying to run our Omegas’ lives and making decisions without them. You’re not the first one to yell at me today. I can take it.”

Maybe it’s the exasperation, maybe it’s the way Cas crumples in his chair, visibly bracing himself not only against the words, but also against the physical effects rejection from his mate has on him. In any case, the anger that had already been burning in Dean starts to fall in on himself.

“Wanna explain to me why before I tell you off?” he says instead.

It’s clear that Cas hasn’t expected even this much. Not after the day they’ve had. Not with the way that the lack of sleep makes both of them snap easier than normal these days.

“Come on, Cas, I’m not that much of an asshole,” Dean says and lays his hand out palm up on the table, invitation clear but without pressuring Cas into physical contact if he doesn’t want it.

But then, when does his mate ever not want physical contact? Cas slides his palm over Dean’s and then his other hand for good measure.

“You’re not an asshole,” Cas sighs, part of his tension draining out of him. “But after the confrontation with your father and then leaning on me after…”

He bites off the rest of the sentence, scent worried like he thinks he’s already said too much. And yeah, Dean’s leaned on Cas and then on his daughter to get him through the day after the confrontation with his Dad. He’s done what he tries to avoid and depended on others to keep himself centered and even. Asked his Alpha to bolster him like the classical romance-novel Omega. And that usually comes with repercussions for his mood. With a swing back on the pendulum towards being standoffish and needing space while he works through his self-worth issues and gets himself back to normal.

“Not sure I agree with you on not being an asshole,” Dean mutters. Because it’s his issues that he’s taking out on Cas. The fact that Cas is attuned enough to him to know when to expect to be brushed off coldly as a thank you for his help does not make Dean feel better, either. He folds his other hand over Cas’ and asks, “What do you need from me?” Because at least they can mitigate the physical effects, even if they’re too edgy to get the emotional shit completely right.

Cas squeezes his hands, apparently grateful for even this small gesture. “This is good.”

But Dean doesn’t like it. Doesn’t like that Cas has to be thankful for something so small. “Okay. Need more?”

Cas regards him silently for a second. “What are you offering?”

Dean would call the tone calculating if it wasn’t for the nervous undercurrent in it. He knows why, too. He’d been cleared for sex less than a week ago. And so far, they’d both not worked up the nerve to try, Dean conscious of the scars on his body, inside and out, nervous despite Pamela’s assurance that Cas could have a knot as big as Magic Mike’s, he wasn’t going to rip anything open again, Cas incredibly afraid of the exact same thing, of hurting his mate and causing a second hospital stay or worse.

Dean makes a conscious effort to lean forward, closer into his mate’s space. To share the discussion instead of just having two anxious individuals holding on to their own pain. “Mary’s tuckered out. She’ll sleep for four hours at least. Or three now, since we’ve been talking a while. It’s enough time, to, you know. To try it out and take our time about it. To be careful with it.” Because as much as he hates being treated like he’s going to break, he doesn’t actually want to break again.

“You sure?” Cas asks quietly. “It’s been a stressful day already.”

Dean draws his face into a half-smile, though he’s sure it comes out pained. “I seem to remember that this was what we did when we wanted to de-stress.”

“I remember that, too,” Cas agrees. “And I want it to be that again. But Dean, it – it might hurt. And with your father just having thrown insults at you, I just don’t want to –”

Dean shakes his head unwillingly. “You planning on using me, Cas? On forcing me into presenting and then just shoving in no matter what? Cause if you’re not, then whatever my Dad said makes no fucking difference.”

That shuts Cas up but his eyes are still guarded. He’s not convinced.

“Seriously, Cas. I’m the first to agree that I’m messed up. But he can call me your Omega bitch all he wants. It makes no fucking difference as long as you don’t see me that way.”

“We talked while you were still in the hospital. Balthazar and I,” Cas says out of the blue.

And the way this conversation goes, Dean’s going to get whiplash. He shakes off thoughts of his Dad to focus on the new topic. “Okay?”

“Gabriel was staying with you and Mary, and Balthazar – it’s bittersweet for them to have Mary around.”

“Yeah,” Dean nods because he’s gotten that much even when he was still somewhat out of it.

“But having us around, that’s making things better apparently. Or that’s what Balthazar said anyway. That my brother was better when we were around. So he asked me whether my offer still stands. And whether I’d know a way to actually make it work.”

Dean nods slowly. Gabriel hasn’t mentioned potentially moving here anymore. Dean had pretty much figured that Gabe and Bal had talked about it and had come to the conclusion that it was unfeasible. That whatever the benefits of a pack, it wouldn’t make up for the loss of their lives in the city. Though Dean had figured that that meant mostly that Bal didn’t want to submit to Cas. The one advantage city-Alphas have, there’s no one they have to bow down to.

Still, what Cas says makes sense to him, too. Bal would do almost anything to make Gabe happy, there’s little doubt about that.

“So you hashed out the housemaster thing,” Dean repeats what he already knows to keep the conversation going.

Cas nods. “We’ve been in regular contact. Making sure we could make this work before telling Gabriel.”

“You didn’t want to get his hopes up in case you couldn’t work it out.”

Cas nods.

“Doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell me.”

Cas shrugs, “You hate lying to your friends. I wanted to spare you that.”

“So – I hate lying to my friends but you got no qualms lying to me?” Dean asks with raised eyebrows.

“There’s a difference between lying and avoiding a topic.”

“Hairsplitting.”

“You kept your quiet about the succession documents for months.”

“Because you told me to!”

“I _asked_ you to,” Cas corrects emphatically.

“Hmm, not quite how I remember it.” But Dean makes sure to attach a fond eye-roll so that Cas knows that he’s not actually still sore about the topic.

“It was a strong request?” Cas gives his voice an intentional coyness because he knows it will come over as really fucking cute.

Dean rolls his eyes in earnest but gives up in the face of the puppy eyes. “Alright, let’s go with that. So, does that mean I can talk to Gabe about this now?”

“Charlie is sending the digital version of this to Balthazar as we speak. I assume you’ll get a call from Gabriel as soon as Balthazar has talked to him.”

Dean snorts. “Yeah, man, _you_ are not getting that phone call, I can tell you that. Whether he’s up for the idea or not, Gabe’s going to be pissed at you and Bal.”

“I’m aware.”

Dean shakes his head. “If the next words out of your mouth are ‘it was a calculated risk’, I swear…”

“Ummm….”

And yeah, Dean thinks, even while he starts laughing helplessly, he knows Cas so fucking well, it’s hard to believe sometimes. The notion washes out the remnants of his anger and he surges forward to kiss his mate soundly.

It knocks a startled breath out of Cas before he can even begin to kiss back. But then he draws Dean out of his chair and onto his lap. Dean doesn’t resist the manhandling, though he makes sure to plant his feet firmly on the ground and carry the better part of his own weight. He’s not back in shape yet.

It’s painfully obvious that they aren’t back to normal, either, because even though he brought him to his lap, Cas is tentative. He gives Dean full control over every movement, hands circling his hips so lightly that they might as well not be there at all. And it’s okay sometimes, to be the one in control, but now all Dean gets from it is the skittish wounded animal feeling.

“I ain’t gonna break from a kiss.”

Instead of an answer, Cas lets out a shuddering breath and leans his forehead against Dean’s.

And okay, this is most definitely not leading to anything other than talking right now. “What’s wrong, Cas?”

“It’s just that… I almost lost you. I can’t stop seeing it. Can’t stop hearing how your voice sounded… Like you weren’t even really here anymore. Like you were already gone. And that was my fault because you’d never even been in this situation without me.”

Dean wants to interrupt but Cas shakes head.

“No, Dean, just let me tell this. I don’t care whether it makes sense to you or not. Just let me tell this.”

“Okay,” Dean nods, rubbing his hands soothingly over Cas’ arms. “I’m listening.”

“That’s bad enough, you know, knowing how close I came to losing you. Knowing that I could do this to you. And today - today I came this close to – I wanted to rip him apart. I wanted it so bad. And I had so little restraint left. I know my own strength, Dean. If I had touched him…” he swallows the rest of the sentence.

“You’re scared you might have killed him,” Dean finishes the statement for him.

Cas nods against his forehead. “If I was Michael… or Lucifer…”

So Dean’s past has brought Cas’ demons with it. “My father would be dead. Yeah, I kind of figured. But you ain’t them.”

“I won against them!”

“Makes you a bigger badass, not a bigger asshole.”

“That’s not – do you even know how much I could hurt you?“

“Yeah, I do. I get it, Cas. You’re a powerful Alpha,” Dean nods. “And honestly I wouldn’t want to piss you off to the electric storm level. But this,” he lays his hand on Cas’ chest for emphasis, “us, that’s different.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Seriously, dude? A year and a half and you haven’t noticed?” Dean laughs disbelievingly, not able to stop even though his mate is giving him the stink-eye for not taking him seriously. “Cas, you get sappy when you stop thinking about keeping a tight leash on your bigshot Alpha power. You get heart-eyes and you _melt_ all over me.”

And the head-tilt would be adorable, if Cas didn’t smell so honestly confused.

“Jesus, Cas, you actually didn’t notice, did you? Well, then you just got to take my word for it. Come on,” he gets up and drags Cas up with him, “we’re relocating the party to the bedroom. No chase, though. I ain’t up for that yet.”

Which is a pity in a way, but then, there’s the lingering feeling of ‘prey’ that his Dad’s stalking has planted at the back of his mind.

But no, no thinking about his Dad right now. And no chase doesn’t mean there can’t be other things. Things that Dean has missed. That he knows Cas has missed, too. He wouldn’t say it, of course, and especially not now. Not with Dean still on the mend. And their bond is strong without reminders. Doesn’t mean they can’t kind of crave them.

“Any other way you want to mark me up, claim my body as yours again, I’m very much up for it.” The words come out huskier than planned. But then, he was never that good at nonchalance with Cas.

Cas breath hitches and he gives Dean a long thoughtful look, like Dean has said something that Cas hadn’t known before. When he takes Dean’s hand and picks up his stride, his steps are suddenly purposeful.

In the bedroom, Dean has enough time to put the baby-phone on the nightstand and toe off his shoes before Cas stills his hands. “I’ll do the rest.”

“Okay?”

Cas doesn’t give him time to question what he’s doing because his hands are already finding their way under Dean’s shirt. He’s all intent now where he was all hesitation before.

“On the bed.”

It doesn’t need more than a gentle push and Dean is sitting down on the bed. Cas draws Dean’s shirt over his head and lets it drop. Then his hands are back on Dean’s body, stroking and caressing while steadily pushing him backwards until he scoots towards the middle of the bed and comes to lie on his back.

“Whatcha doing, Cas?”

“Reclaiming your body,” Cas answers even while he bends down to press soft kisses into Dean’s neck.

He works his way downward towards Dean’s belly and Dean starts squirming. He’s conscious about all the things he currently isn’t (mainly slim and muscled) but Cas bats his hands away when Dean tries to turn the tables on him. Instead of glossing over Dean’s mid-section, he’s careful to kiss every inch of it, trace the new scar carefully, and not leave any part of it out.

“You’re beautiful, Dean.”

And Dean’s already been uncomfortable enough with Cas’ ministrations without adding that on top. He snorts to deflect the words but Cas doesn’t let it deter him. He reverently follows the paths of the stretchmarks with his fingers.

“Breeding kink going as far as stretch marks, huh?” Dean attempts a light tone with his mocking, but his insecurity shows in his voice anyway.

Cas looks up at him puzzled. “You bore our child, Dean, and your body shows it. I wish it would just be these marks and not the scar but I find every part of you beautiful.”

Dean groans and throws his arm over his eyes so that he at least doesn’t have to acknowledge this.

“If you want me to stop, you have to state it verbally. Otherwise, I’m continuing.”

It is entirely unfair that Cas says this while he’s opening the buttons of Dean’s jeans. So of course Dean says nothing and instead just hoists himself up enough that Cas can slide his pants down and out of the way.

The sneaky bastard follows the path of the fabric downwards, and starts at Dean’s feet again, working his way upward, giving each inch of skin the same attention he’d given Dean’s upper body. By the time Cas reaches his thighs, Dean’s hands are cramped into the bedsheets, his body a tangled mix of hyperawareness of Cas’ hands and mouth and a low buzzing under his skin.

If this is supposed to be relaxing, it definitely isn’t. It does other things to him, though, things that become more noticeable the further up Cas’ mouth moves along Dean’s leg. By the time he’s managed to make it to the juncture there, Dean catches Cas’ arm before he can get the idea of turning Dean over and starting the same process on his back. “Would you claim me for real, already?” he growls.

Cas’ head snaps up, clearly surprised by both the command and the growl. But Dean can’t take another round of gentle kisses that start small fires under his skin which melt together into a blaze. He needs the fire to flare high enough that it burns itself out.

“Come on, Cas, don’t make me beg.” Though he will if he has to, there’s no doubt about it. “Front, back, I’ll do whatever you want, just get a move on already.”

He opens his legs wider, presses up against Cas.

“Fuck, you’ve still got clothes on. Why do you still have clothes on?”

That observation punches a startled laugh out of Cas before he slides up, hovering over Dean’s body while taking in how much of a mess he’s already made out of his mate. “Shut up, Dean,” he whispers into his ear and then bites down over the mating bite.

Dean’s whole body convulses, straining upwards and towards Cas as pain and pleasure zap through him in equal parts, need for his Alpha suddenly intensified thousand-fold. The whimper makes it out of his throat unbidden, but he lets it escape, knows that it transports his want better than any words he could say.

Cas answers with a deep rumble, mouth clamped over the skin on Dean’s neck, even while he tries to balance himself, so that he can rip down his pants with one hand. It’s not the most graceful thing on the planet but Dean grunts his approval when Cas gets the job done.

Dean keeps his neck bared to Cas’ teeth but he clamps his legs around Cas’ thighs, hauling him in. He’s slick and he’s ready. “Want you, Cas,” he mumbles, command gone out of his voice in the face of his building need, “want you inside me, please, Cas.”

A shudder runs through his mate and he lets go of the mating bite in favor of concentrating on aligning them, even though he keeps his nose close to Dean’s neck, sucking in Dean’s scent in thick gulps.

It’s a surprise and a shock to his system when Cas finally enters, even though he’s careful and pushes in slow. Dean breathes through the moment of pain, sucking in Cas’ scent in return, consciously relaxing every part of his body.

And then they’re past the initial resistance and the pain recedes and the arousal rushes back. Cas is still slow and hesitant, so Dean meets him halfway, bucking up his hips, setting the rhythm for both of them. Cas catches up on it and meets him stride for stride, negotiating their way through how fast and how rough they want this to be. Dean lets his hands roam, over his mate first, then over himself, taking up the same rhythm they’re building together, letting the crescendo build until his muscles start to spasm and he can’t hold the pace anymore, his hips stuttering and his breath too short. He gives in to the sensation and lets the bliss wash over him, keeping just enough motor functions to draw Cas down into a breathless shuddering kiss, knowing it will make him tumble over the edge, too.

 

They end up tightly interwoven, legs tangled, arms around each other, slowly coming down off the endorphin high together.

Dean’s skin still tingles with the ghost of Cas’ kisses. It’s like every molecule in his body got awoken and is firmly pointing towards his mate now. It would be scary if it didn’t feel like that’s exactly how it should be. “God, I’ve missed this,” he mumbles. “I’ve missed _you_.”

It makes no sense to have missed Cas. He’s been here the whole time. Apart from where it makes perfect sense. A mating bond is physical as much as anything else. And between Dean being hurt, the boarding school needing attention, and their daughter taking up most of their time together, there hasn’t been much of a chance to just soak in each other’s presence.

As if to illustrate his point, there’s a few faint quakes from the baby-phone and they turn their heads simultaneously, holding their breath until the noise peters off.

“Phew, close call,” Dean sighs in relief. “That would have been awkward.”

“I’m sure Meg or Charlie would have looked after her.” Cas looks around the room to locate his slacks where they’ve fallen on the ground. “Though I guess we should have kept the cellphones in reach.”

Dean chuckles. “I’m not even sure whether they’d be mortified or celebrating.”

Cas looks at him weird. “Have we been that off?”

Dean nuzzles into Cas’ neck. “Yup.”

It’s impossible to draw him any closer but Cas tries anyway.

It’s noticeable. How the tension has drained out of Cas. How the lines of his body are smoothly following Dean’s now where he was taut and inflexible before. However much Cas has made this about Dean, it’s been as necessary for him.

“Let’s see whether we can convince them to take Mary one night a week. Have an old-fashioned date night.”

Cas smiles. “We never had date-nights before.”

Dean chuckles. “That’s because you proposed to me before we ever got around to the first date, you dork.”

“Best choice I’ve made in my life. I could still go for a date, though.”

“Fuck, Cas,” Dean shakes his head because sometimes Cas still hits him out of left field with casual remarks like this.

But Cas just snuggles into Dean, oblivious or pretending to be oblivious to what he’s just said.

So for a while, they just lie in silence, until Dean says, “I don’t mean it, you know. When I push you away after… I don’t mean it.”

“I know.”

“I saw you bracing yourself, Cas. So obviously you don’t. Or at least your Alpha side doesn’t. So here, I’m stating it out loud for your Alpha to hear: I’m not rejecting you. Ever.”

There’s a warm hand cupping Dean’s cheek then, thumb softly brushing over his stubble. “Don’t feel responsible for this. If you reject me, I’ll deal.”

“You’re my mate, man. Of course I feel responsible,” Dean answers. “It ain’t the kind of responsibility that you got for chores, either. Want you happy.”

And of course Cas knows this but Dean kisses him anyway to drive the point home. It turns into a long languid kiss, slow and soft and without a goal but the kissing itself. It lulls them into a pleasant buzz and then finally into a pleasant half-slumber. Which they get rudely woken out of by the baby-phone an hour later.

“Shit,” Dean mutters and already rolls out of bed. “I’ll clean up real quick. Can you change the sheets in the meantime?”

“Yeah,” Cas yawns and stumbles out of bed, too.

It takes a few minutes longer than their usual routine, so Mary has worked herself into a bit of a frenzy by the time Dean makes it to the nursery. “It’s okay, little one, Daddy’s here now.” He lifts her out of her crib, blankets and all. “Thank you for sleeping long enough to give Alpha-Daddy and me some alone-time, though. That was very nice of you.”

She’s calming down already, nuzzling at Dean, eyes tired and eyelids droopy.

“Yeah, we’re taking you to the big bed, I know you never like sleeping the second half of the night alone. Alpha-Daddy’s cleaning the bed up for you, too, so that you have nice fresh smelling sheets.”

He keeps babbling little nonsensical things while he pads back to their bedroom. By the time he’s back, Cas has put his PJ pants on and changed the sheets.

“She hungry?” Cas asks.

Dean chuckles. “When isn’t she?”

“She’s got your appetite.”

“Yeah, you better make sure there’s either burgers or apple pie when you invite me on that date,” Dean teases.

“Not a problem,” Cas smiles at him fondly and sits back down on the bed so that they can settle in together for their family-half of the night.

 

In the morning, it’s actually kind of hard to get up. Cas has been an angel and taken Mary after the morning feeding, so that Dean could blessedly fall back asleep for another hour. He’s awake now, possibly better rested than he’s been in months.

But that also means that he remembers the confrontation with his father immediately. And his promise to call Sam about this. Ugh. What’s he even supposed to say? ‘Dad’s tracking you down but we’re tracking him, so don’t worry I’ll warn you?’ Great.

He drags his ass out of bed and under the shower because getting rid of the lingering soreness in his muscles will hopefully help. He has a feeling that it is much more from being tense about his Dad than from what they did in bed. He guesses that’s a good thing. Means he’s actually well on his way to mending.

Breakfast first is what he decides after the shower. His brother is probably currently listening to some important lecture given by some Stanford genius anyway, and Dean can procrastinate for just a little while before actually having to deal with all of this shit again.

The kitchen is empty when he gets there, which is not unusual per se, but somehow he’s expected to find Cas and his daughter here. Mary’s got her playpen and her toys in here and Cas tends to work at the kitchen table these days instead of in his office.

Dean frowns and changes direction towards the office area.

He can hear Mary whine before he’s even halfway down the hall.

Charlie peeks out of her tiny office space when she hears his footsteps. “Thank goodness you’re here. He wouldn’t give Mary to anyone else, but he’s… Ah, you’ll see.”

Dean raises his eyebrows but she waves him on.

He can smell that something is off before he’s even entered the room. No wonder Mary is crying even while Cas is rocking her helplessly and trying to soothe her.

Dean takes a deep breath to keep his own scent from being infected by his mate’s mood and goes in. “Hey, little one, you’re making quite the racket.” He smiles up at Cas and takes Mary out of his arms. “What’s up, huh?”

He asks Mary but then looks questioningly at Cas while he turns Mary so she can scent at his skin. She still whines angrily for another few sobs, like she’s complaining that he left her alone with her grumpy Alpha-dad for so long. Dean rubs her back soothingly.

There’s nothing calm about Cas’ earth and roots today, it’s like a chilly wind blows in gusts through the forest. No, grumpy is not the right word. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say Cas is anxious.

“Cas, seriously, what’s up?” Dean asks, trying to sound and be unworried for Mary’s sake but not quite managing.

Cas’ lips form a tight line and he kneads his hands together, giving off vibes of anger and anxiety at the same time. “Your father left an envelope at the Roadhouse. It was addressed to me.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense,” Dean shrugs against the tiny stab in his heart and keeps his voice smooth, “you’re the boss of me after all.”

“Dean…”

“Hey, don’t worry. Just tell me what’s in it.”

“Medical files.” The anxiety in Cas’ voice ratchets up a notch. He nods at the table. “They’re all there.”

“Okay,” Dean says but doesn’t go any closer. “Anything to do with me? Hereditary disease we didn’t know about? Sam and me going to die young?”

“What?” Cas exclaims. “Why would you think that?”

“Honestly, Cas? Cause you smell too upset for this to be just my Dad dying. He _is_ dying, isn’t he?”

Because his Dad’s complexion hadn’t looked so great. The yellow tint to his skin and eyes. The way he’s aged more than he should have. And it makes sense, doesn’t it? Searching out your sons when you know you’re going to kick the bucket?

Cas takes a deep breath and nods. “Liver failure.”

“Well, fuck,” Dean mutters. “But I guess it isn’t all that surprising.” He goes to the table and checks out the medical files after all, even though he’s pretty sure Cas can interpret them much better than he can.

“He needs a transplant.”

“And as an alcoholic he’s at the bottom of the list. That’s why he came.”

“I believe so, yes,” Cas nods.

Dean shuffles through the papers again when something catches his eye. “Cas?” He picks up an open folder and holds it for his mate to see. “These are my files. What are my files doing here?”

“Yeah, about that.” Cas suddenly smells ten times more like stormy winds. “I’ve noticed something.”

“Okay?” Dean drops the folder back on the table and makes space for Cas to get to the files.

“Here,” Cas points. “This is your father’s blood type.”

“AB,” Dean reads.

“Yes,” Cas nods. “AB. It’s repeated here and here. So it’s not a mistake. Now if we go to your files….” Suddenly, Cas falters. He shoots a worried look at Dean and then just points at the blood type printed on Dean’s file.

Now his own blood type doesn’t come as a surprise to Dean. “Yeah, my blood type’s O. It’s written down in that Pregnancy Pass thingie, too.”

Cas worries his lip for a moment before he softly says, “Yes. Your blood type is O. The thing is, that’s impossible. A blood type AB parent cannot have a blood type O child.”

It takes only a second to sink in. Dean sits down heavily on Cas’ office chair. “So you’re saying…?”

“I’m saying I think I know why your father is looking for Sam and not for you. And it has nothing to do with you being an Omega.”

“Fuck.” There is really nothing else to say.

“Is this – good news or bad, Dean?” Cas asks insecurely.

Dean’s snort sounds somewhat hysterical even to himself. “Damned if I know. I guess it explains some things. Like how my Dad got an Alpha-lady like my Mom.”

Cas thinks about that for a second. “If she was pregnant by another Alpha… Back then that would have been…”

“A scandal, yes. And Gramps was not known to be lenient.” Dean shakes his head, manic outburst still close to the surface. “What the hell are the chances? An Alpha / Alpha pairing and I come out Omega.”

“Are you asking me statistically speaking or was that a rhetorical question?” Cas asks cautiously.

“Jesus, Cas, you go nerdy accountant when you’re uncomfortable.”

Cas frowns at that and decides to go ahead with the answer anyway. “Well, both your Alpha parents would have had to have recessive Omega genes. But that’s actually less rare than Beta couples both having those. And, Dean, Omega males are rare with whatever coupling.”

“Yeah, Cas, it’s not even that. I know that I’m a freak of nature. It’s just the thought. Dominant Alpha genes times two. You’d think that would produce Alpha offspring, wouldn’t you?”

“Oh Dean,” Cas sighs and draws one of the other chairs closer to sit down. “You’re not a freak of nature. Also, we don’t even know whether your other parent was an Alpha. Could have been a Beta.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Dean shakes his head.

“How can you be sure?”

“Cause of my Dad. The way he reacted,” Dean rubs his forehead. The more he thinks about it, the clearer all of this becomes. “Makes sense, doesn’t it? I’m not his but he puts up with me because at least he’s sure I’m going to turn out Alpha. Cause what else could I be? Only then…” Dean huffs a self-deprecatory laugh, “yeah, I fucked that one up for him.”

“Dean…” Cas’ voice is soft now.

“Nah, Cas, it’s fine. Just surreal is all.” He nuzzles his nose into the soft hair on Mary’s head to get a sense of the present and his family and all the things that haven’t changed. But then the hysterical laughter suddenly bubbles up again. “He told me it’s good she’s legit because I better not name a bastard after Mom. God, that frikkin’ asshole, he knew the whole time.”

Cas says nothing for a long moment, until Dean’s unhappy laughter fizzles out. Then he says resolutely, “Your mother wanted you. Alpha pregnancies are rare in the first place and when they happen, they carry high risks. To do that unmated? It’s brave. She fought for you, Dean.”

He lays his arm around Dean’s back and Dean lets himself be drawn in. Lets Cas pull his head down to his shoulder and lets his mate cradle him.

“Think she married him just because of me?” he asks quietly.

Cas doesn’t answer for a long time. Finally he says, “I don’t know. I think if she could make it through two pregnancies, she would have made it raising you on her own. But I don’t know if she knew that.”

Dean just nods against Cas’ shoulder. His memories of his mother are blurry. He remembers her fighting with Dad. But he also remembers contentment. Things went to shit only after she died. They didn’t have a pack because his parents had both left theirs. It had been enough as long as his Mom was alive, just their family. But after she was gone… “Grampa Campbell wanted to claim us. Bring us back into his pack. After she died. My Dad wouldn’t let him. They hated each other’s guts.”

“Would you have wanted that? To go to your grandfather?”

“Good God, no. I mean, I don’t remember all that much but the Campbell pack was fucking scary. My Mom had a reason to want to get out of there. Presenting as an Omega in their pack, yeah, that would have been the cherry on top of that special bit of luck.” He shudders.

“I’m sorry,” Cas states quietly. There is a hint of saltwater in his scent. It’s suppressed but Dean gets the feeling it’s been there for a while, too subtle for him to notice.

“Well, that didn’t happen, did it?”

“No, that’s not…” Cas sighs. “I’m sorry you’re still so unhappy about who you are. I thought maybe over the past two years… I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. This isn’t about me.”

Dean uncurls himself from Cas’ shoulder, and yeah, the saltwater smell hasn’t been lying. Cas looks decidedly unhappy. Like Dean’s issues are a personal failure on his part. Frikking idjit.

“Damn straight, Cas, this isn’t about you,” Dean agrees and Cas actually shrinks back at that. “Cause you’re starring in every single version of my life in every goddamn alternate universe. You think for one second I’d give you up if I were an Alpha, you are so wrong, I can’t even begin to tell you. I’d just give you a whole new use for all your equality theories. So you better stop pouting right now.”

It is slow, the change in Cas’ posture and scent. Dean’s harsh tone and the content of what he’s saying don’t fit and it needs a moment to consciously register. But he sees it, the moment the impact hits Cas. The moment he understands that this is a love declaration. And the moment in which he gets that this is actually not about him.

“You’d do it, too, wouldn’t you?” Dean grins, “The two male Alphas thing? No matter how taboo it is, no matter that there wouldn’t be children.”

“I’d miss our daughter of course. But I’d get to keep you,” Cas tries to shrug it off casually but the wave of honey that hits Dean is anything but.

“You’re one strange Alpha,” Dean chuckles and leans in to kiss his mate. “And for the record, no, I’m not unhappy about who I am. I’m claimed and I’m loved. Kind of the best thing that can happen to anyone, isn’t it?”

“It is. I should know,” Cas nods and draws Dean closer, enveloping them all in a cloud of honey.

Dean lets the scent calm his frayed edges, lets it ground him firmly back in the present, before he asks. “So, what now? What do we do with all of this?”

“What do you want to do?” Cas asks back.

And Dean really has no idea about that. But he knows one thing, he has promised to give the information on to Sam. “Did he leave his contact info with the envelope?”

Cas nods. “There’s a cell phone number.”

“Then I guess I should call Sam and tell him about the whole shitfest. No point in delaying it, is there?”

“I guess,” Cas nods. “Want me to be there?”

Dean thinks about it for a second. “Actually, think you’ve calmed down enough that you can take Mary for a while without her freaking out?”

“Yes, yes of course. I’m, umm, sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, little Alpha. I worry about you, too.”

They smile at each other, deep and content despite the circumstances. It’ll never fall short of a miracle for Dean, how they’ve managed to find each other. But he doesn’t say any more about it, just hands their daughter over. Cas cradles her carefully and she doesn’t protest.

“I haven’t had breakfast yet. So I’ll come to the kitchen after.”

“We’ll be there,” Cas promises.

“Thanks.” Dean smiles and squeezes his mate’s arm before going to find a spot where he can be alone for the phone call.

He thinks about the porch, but after his Dad showed up it isn’t the safe place anymore that it used to be. The nursery is a safe place, too, but it’s not the right place for heavy topics. So he settles on the bedroom. Enveloped by the scents of his family, the past has little hold over him and he’s going to need to be grounded for this.

Before he can even get into a tailspin about how he’s going to tell this to his brother – well, half-brother he should say – ah, fuck it, no, brother, because Sam’s always going to be his brother no matter what, he hits dial.

Three rings and Sam picks up. “Hey Dean.”

“Sam, hey. You got a moment?”

There’s a slight pause. Sam picking up on the fact that Dean has not called him ‘Sammy’ most likely. “I was studying, but yeah, I got a moment.”

“You alone?”

“Uhh, Jessica is somewhere around. Why?” There’s a definite edge to Sam’s voice now. He knows something is up.

“Jess being there is fine. Just, think you might not want to be in public for this,” Dean sighs. “It’s a bit of a crapfest.”

“Are you okay, Dean? Cas? Mary?” Sam’s voice is worried.

“Yeah, we’re fine. Well, mostly. Dad showed up.”

“What?” Sam asks incredulously.

“Showed up out of the blue on our doorstep yesterday. He was looking for you.”

“What?” And apparently Sam’s been rendered speechless so Dean just plows on.

“Well, he was his usual charming self so we kind of threw him out before he could cut to the chase. But he left some info at the Roadhouse and we pieced it together from that. Wish I could say he just wanted to get in contact with you cause he wants contact, but it looks like he’s finally managed to wreck his liver and hopes you’re a matching donor.”

There’s a long silence on the other end of the line as Sam digests that.

Dean sighs and goes on. “I mean, chances of being a suitable donor are higher when you’re closely related. And I’ve kind of promised him to send the info how to get in contact with him on to you. But, you know, you got zero responsibility to even think about it. Just cause he’s sired you, doesn’t mean jack.”

“Dean?” Sam’s voice is confused now and also somewhat scared. And yeah, Dean has worded that like he has on purpose.

“Yeah, that’s the other thing that came out. Not that he said it outright. But it’s in the medical files. Our blood types. They don’t match. He can’t be my biological dad.”

There’s nothing but stunned silence on the other end of the line, and Dean wishes the phone would transmit scents because he can’t judge what’s going through Sam’s head.

“I can scan the files for you and send them. It doesn’t – it doesn’t mean anything for us. Unless you want it to mean something, that is. I guess it could – but for me, it doesn’t mean anything. You’re my brother, whether we share two parents or just one.”

There’s still no answer, so finally Dean begs, “Sammy, come on. Say something. Let me know how you’re taking this.”

“Dean – this is –“

“Somewhat mind-boggling, yeah, I know.”

Sam snorts. “Understatement of the year, man.”

And that sounds like Sam’s doing okay. Thank God.

“You have any idea who it could be? Your real Dad?” Sam asks.

“Nah, I don’t,” Dean shakes his head.

“Think Dad knows?”

And that’s something Dean hasn’t even thought about. “Maybe. I don’t know. He probably would? I mean, they were married by the time I was born.”

“You gonna ask him?”

“Umm,” Dean sits down on the bed heavily, “I hadn’t actually planned on talking to him again.”

“But we don’t really have any other source of information, do we? And if he’s dying, there’s a limited time-frame.”

And if it wasn’t so sad, Dean might just laugh about how easily Sam falls into lawyer mode, sniffing out leads to a case that interests him and casually talking about their Dad dying while he‘s at it. But it isn’t funny, so Dean turns this around before they can get side-tracked. Dean’s parentage is not the issue John wanted to contact his son about after all. “You got to think about whether you want to contact him, Sam. We both know that you’ve been thinking about it anyway. So now’s your chance.”

There’s another long moment before Sam asks. “How was he to you?”

“You’re going to base this on whether he was an ass to me?”

“Well, Dean, you’re my brother. And you’ve pretty much raised me. So excuse me if you’re my priority.”

Dean shakes his head, even though he can’t help the warm glow that the words leave behind. He’s done his best raising Sam and it’s paid off. “Look, Sam, I wanted you out of there when you were a kid because he’s got pretty shitty opinions. Not only about Omegas. About what makes an Alpha, too. And that hasn’t changed. But he’s still your Dad. And if you want to get to know him, this might be your only chance.”

“We were both kids, Dean,” is what Sam chooses to answer to that.

Dean chuckles drily. “Yeah, it’s been a long time since I was a kid, Sam. Much longer than that.”

“I know,” Sam says quietly.

“I’ll have your back whatever you want to do. You want to talk to him but not on your own, I’ll be there. Cas will, too. Dad’s scared of him so he probably won’t try any shit with him around.”

“What about you? You don’t want to get to know him better?”

Dean snorts again. “I think I know all I need to know about him. I might still –,“ he breaks off for a second because he hasn’t actually thought about this until right this moment. “I might still get myself tested. Chances are I ain’t a suitable donor anyway. But, I don’t know.”

“You’d do that? Even though he’s never been good to you? And even though he isn’t even your real Dad?”

“I – I don’t know. Just kind of feels wrong to let him die without at least trying.”

“Is he still drinking?”

“I’d assume so. He smelled like it.”

“Then it won’t make a difference. You know that, right?”

Dean shrugs. “It’d give him a few years.”

He can actually hear Sam run his fingers through his hair as he’s thinking. “He’d need rehabilitation. That means a clinic.”

“It means the _will_ to stay dry,” Dean counters.

“It means a _reason_ to want to stay dry.”

“If you’re implying that we should be that reason, best of luck. He’s had us for a decade and a half and we weren’t enough for him to lay off the soup. There’s no reason it should be any different now.”

“Well, I -,” but nothing follows the beginning of the sentence.

“I ain’t going to do it,” Dean says decisively. “If that’s a route you want to go, you take it up with Cas, see if he gives you funds for a place at a clinic. But I can’t. I’ve kept you safe from his bullshit. Now I got to keep Mary safe. That’s all there is to it.”

“I understand,” Sam replies. “And I don’t know – I was 14 when I last saw him. I don’t know whether I even could.”

“I’ll mail you his info. I didn’t give him anything on you. He thinks you’re living here in the pack. So you probably got a while before he’s actually going to track you to Cali.”

“How did he find us anyway?”

“Hannah. She put my full name in the birth announcement. Kind of had a feeling that that would prove to be a bad idea. But she gave me a lecture about tradition and propriety and I wanted to get her off my back, so I gave in.” Dean shrugs. “He was hunting us. He’d have found out one way or another.”

There’s another pause from Sam before he says, “You don’t sound all that upset. I’d have figured you’d be more upset.”

“About what? Him finding us or him not being my actual Dad?” He’s already stopped talking when he notices that he should probably also be upset about his Dad dying. But the threat of a violent death has been hanging over John as long as he can remember. It doesn’t feel like much has changed.

“Both, I guess?”

“Well, it’s been a while since I needed him. And,” he scratches his neck because this is actually a kind of embarrassing admission, “at least I know now. That I can stand up to him. I mean, it doesn’t mean that he’s taking me seriously, but, you know, at least I can tell him his bullshit is bullshit and believe it.”

There’s a shift in the atmosphere of the room and Dean notices Cas standing in the open doorway. He waves him in. “Where’s Mary?”

“Asleep.”

Dean nods and talks into the receiver again. “Sorry, Sam, Cas just came in.”

“Say Hi.”

“Sam says Hi.”

Cas nods. “Tell him we’ve got his back.”

“Already did,” Dean smiles. “Look, Sammy, you good for now? I’ll send you the stuff and we’ll talk later?”

“Yeah, yeah that’s fine.”

“Alright. Say Hi to Jess. Tell her your brother said to be lenient today and not kick your butt.”

“Dean!”

He chuckles. “Talk to you soon, Sammy.”

“Yeah, you too.”

They hang up and Dean looks up at Cas who’s found himself a space next to Dean on the bed.

“I’m proud of you, you know that, right?” Cas says softly. “About the way how you handled your father.”

The instinct to deflect is immediate but for once, Dean doesn’t. “It’s mostly you anyway. What the hell can he do to me, long as I got you?”

Cas smiles. “I’ll take it as a compliment but we both know that you’re selling yourself short. Everything you’ve done for Sam, everything you’ve achieved since you took him and ran, I had no doubts that you can stand up to your father. And you kept your wits about you much better than I did. You do that a lot, you know?”

Dean knows he’s blushing now, so he ducks his head.

“I have no idea who came up with the story that Omegas are less in control of their emotions than Alphas but it’s not true.”

“Says the probably most level-headed Alpha in the country.”

“But I’ve got to work hard for it. It just comes naturally to you.”

“Cause I know you’re going to have my back no matter what.”

Cas’ smile deepens. “Are we really going to argue about this?”

“Hmm, we could,” Dean says, suddenly aware of the proximity of his mate. On their bed. No pup near. He lets his eyes roam up and down Cas’ body, making sure Cas catches the gesture. “Or we could conclude that we’re both awesome and make use of the time while the pup is asleep.”

The change in Cas is instant, enthusiasm taking over his features. “Did you have anything specific in mind?”

Dean lays his hands on Cas’ chest and pushes him backwards. Cas eagerly scoots up the bed and comes to lay on his back, letting Dean straddle him.

“I’ve got a few ideas, yeah,” Dean grins and closes the last few inches between them.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I shamelessly exploited the Bucklemming episode blood type snafu* for my own purposes. :) So, what do you think, are Sam or Dean suitable donors**? What will happen next in the John Winchester saga? Will Dean go looking for his other parent? Will he find them?
> 
> How do you think Gabriel will react to the plans the Alphas concocted?
> 
> Also, because the question has come up in the comments: Who else do you think will make / should make an appearance in this verse? More ghosts from the past? 
> 
> And what do you want to read about next? I promise nothing but I will keep your ideas in mind!
> 
>  
> 
> *Dark_Sky pointed out to me that there are rare genetic traits that make this possible, e.g. the Bombay phenomenon and that maybe Bucklemming assumed John had that.  
> **The likelihood of a potential match is admittedly high with John being AB. Unless he really has a rare genetic trait like the Bombay phenomenon, in which case he's pretty much fucked.


End file.
